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Spatial Analysis Lab
Fulbright Specialist Project · The Furman Standard · University of Mpumalanga · Furman University

WebGIS Tools for Teaching & Research

Interactive geospatial applications developed through the Geospatial Curriculum and Mentoring Initiative, a Fulbright Specialist collaboration between Furman University and the University of Mpumalanga. Each tool is free to use in the browser and built for classroom instruction and applied research, including a South Carolina census explorer that pairs with the Mpumalanga tool for cross-national comparison.

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Thermal Remote Sensing

Global Land Surface Temperature (LST) Explorer

A thermal remote sensing tool built on MODIS and Landsat 8/9 imagery via Google Earth Engine. Click anywhere on the map to generate a 3-year MODIS LST time series of seasonal trends, or draw a polygon (up to 1,000 sq km) to map a high-resolution Landsat summer mean composite - ideal for exploring urban heat islands. Includes a classroom reading guide on LST theory, a curated urban heat and health literature collection, and discussion questions.

Designed for: Remote Sensing · Urban Studies · Environmental Science · Public Health

Launch tool Guided activities manual available for class use
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Census & Demographics

Mpumalanga Census 2022 Interactive WebGIS Explorer

Draws on Statistics South Africa Census 2022 municipal data for all 17 Mpumalanga municipalities, supporting choropleth mapping and bivariate statistical analysis of demographic, infrastructure, and socioeconomic variables.

Designed for: Development Studies · Economics · Public Policy

Launch tool Guided activities manual available for class use
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Census & Demographics

South Carolina Census 2020 Interactive WebGIS Explorer

The U.S. companion to the Mpumalanga explorer, built on U.S. Census Bureau 2020 PL 94-171 redistricting data and ACS 2022 5-year estimates for all 46 South Carolina counties, with drill-down to census tracts. Offers choropleth mapping with switchable classification (natural breaks, quantiles, equal interval), proportional-symbol overlays, OpenStreetMap reference layers, summary statistics, correlation and multiple regression, and CSV export - designed to be used alongside the Mpumalanga tool for cross-national comparison of census concepts.

Designed for: Sociology · Public Policy · Economics · Public Health · Environmental Studies

Launch tool Companion tool for U.S. and South Africa census comparison
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Remote Sensing & Agriculture

Mpumalanga Crop Health Explorer

An NDVI-based crop and vegetation health monitoring tool powered by Sentinel-2 satellite imagery via Google Earth Engine, covering Mpumalanga's agricultural areas across multiple growing seasons with interactive multi-year time-series analysis of NDVI.

Designed for: Agriculture · Crop Sciences · Environmental Science

Launch tool Guided activities manual available for class use
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Soil Erosion Modeling

RUSLE Soil Erosion Calculator for South Africa

A multi-zone, farm-scale soil erosion modeling tool implementing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation parameterized for South African conditions, including the Smithen and Schulze (1982) rainfall erosivity regression and K-factor defaults from the SOTER southern Africa database. Model annual soil loss, weighted erosion rates, and risk classifications across farm zones, with a conservation scenario module.

Designed for: Soil Science · Agriculture · Environmental Management

Launch tool Guided activities manual available for class use
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Soil Properties & Mapping

South Africa Soil Explorer

Integrates SoilGrids v2.0 (ISRIC, 250 m resolution) and the iSDAsoil API (30 m resolution), enabling click-to-query of soil properties, including bulk density, CEC, clay content, nitrogen, pH, sand, silt, and organic carbon, at multiple depth intervals anywhere in South Africa, with choropleth mapping for spatial comparison.

Designed for: Soil Science · Environmental Science · Agriculture · Development Studies

Launch tool Guided activities manual available for class use

Guided Lab Activity Manuals

Each tool is supported by a guided lab activity manual written for University of Mpumalanga faculty, providing a structured real-world scenario, step-by-step student instructions, discussion questions, and assessment tasks that can be used without additional technical preparation. Guided activities manuals are available for class use. To request a lab activity manual for any of these tools, contact Dr. Suresh Muthukrishnan at suresh.muthukrishnan@furman.edu.

Acknowledgments

Fulbright Specialist Program The Furman Standard

Development of these tools was made possible by the Fulbright Specialist Program, administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, through the Geospatial Curriculum and Mentoring Initiative with the University of Mpumalanga, and by The Furman Standard, a Furman University fellowship supporting the highest levels of research, scholarship, and curricular innovation.

The contents of these tools are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Fulbright Specialist Program, the U.S. Department of State, or Furman University.